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GEAR GUIDE: CREATIVE LIVE PHOTO WEEK 2014
Here’s my Gear List for my Commercial Portrait Lighting Master Class at CreativeLive Photo Week 2014
Sony E-Mount Mirrorless Cameras & Lenses
Sony A7R
36.4mp Fullframe mirrorless camera designed for the highest resolution of the A7 mirrorless family. Excellent choice for landscapes or any time you want to capture the finest detail. It’s like holding a medium format camera in the palm of your hand.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Sony FE 55mm/1.8 ZA
This is one of the sharpest lenses I’ve ever owned – virtually on par with the performance of the legendary $4,000 Zeiss 55mm/1.4 Otus lens. Great shallow depth of field look wide open for portraits.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Sony FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS
I’ll be shooting at CreativeLive with the very first pre-production FE 16-35mm lens in the country. Initial lens tests are extremely impressive for this constant f/4 maximum aperture full-frame wide-angle zoom E-mount lens.
Sony E 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS
This Zeiss zoom is the perfect focal range for portraits and travel. Smaller and lighter than it’s F2.8 A-mount brother, it’s nicely balanced for A7 mirrorless bodies
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS
Versatile tele-zoom that takes over right where the FE 24-70mm leaves off. Nicely balanced in size and weight for Sony A7/A7R/A7S cameras – it won’t weigh you down.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Sony LA-EA4 Lens Mount Adapter
Sony’s LA-EA4 lens adapter allows me to use Sony A-Mount lenses on E-Mount cameras, this adapter adds full-time continuous Phase Detection AF using Sony’s Translucent Mirror Technology making this adapter well-suited for shooting fast moving action.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Sony A-Mount Cameras & Lenses
Sony A99
Sony’s flagship 24mp fullframe A-mount camera is my workhorse camera of choice whenever size and weight is not an issue. Great CMOS sensor for great skin tones and outstanding image quality with full AF 1080 in 24, 30 and 60P.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 ZA
If I had to shoot with just one lens – this would be it! 24-70mm is the perfect focal range for portraits. Zeiss glass makes this the sharpest zoom I’ve ever used and unlike Zeiss lenses for other DSLRs – Sony Zeiss lenses are Auto Focus.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Sony 85mm f/1.4 ZA
I’ve always loved to shoot portraits with fast 85mm lenses wide open for minimal depth-of-field and the Zeiss glass makes this the sharpest 85 I’ve ever seen. I use this lens when I want a tight portrait to be just a bit “flatter” in perspective than a shot at 70mm.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Sony 135mm f/1.8 ZA
Quite simply an incredible lens. Though I tend to shoot portraits a bit closer, this is a great lens for tight portraits if you want to flatten out the perspective a bit. Every time I shoot with it, I’m reminded that I need to use it more often. Read more about the 135/1.8 ZA here.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Lighting
Profoto Acute 2
Ever since the airlines dripped the weight allowance from 70 to 50 pounds, these packs have become my BFFs. I can get 2 packs and 2-3 heads in a Tenba Aircase and still sneak it tipping the scale at 50lbs. Available in both 2400 and 1200 w/s.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Profoto Acute 2 D4 Flash Head
The Profoto Acute 2-D4 modular flash head design features a circular, heavy duty, quartz flash tube and UV coated protection dome that surrounds both the flash tube and the 250W modeling light.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Profoto Acute 2 Ring Flash
The ringflash fits all Acute power packs, and is an entirely mobile source of light. The adjustable tripod mount bracket and wide interior (100mm diameter) allows for fitting all types of cameras and lenses in many formats.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Profoto B1 500 AirTTL Battery Powered Flash
With battery power and a clever design with no cables or cords, you can take the 600WS B1 with you wherever you go and put it wherever you want. Add to that the power, speed and light shaping possibilities that Profoto lights are known for, and you have an off-camera flash that makes great light easy.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
PocketWizard Plus III Transceiver Radio Slaves
I shoot nearly everything with strobes, so I use these to sync it all up. I’ve been using Pocket Wizard since they first came out in the days of Pong. The newest version III are a great update – smaller, cheaper, more ergonomic – which explains why they can’t keep em on the shelves.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Lighting Modifiers
Profoto Beauty Dish
Soft light with a punch – I love how these look blended with daylight. They also save the day on a windy Miami day when your assistant would fly off to Kansas if they were holding an Octabank.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Profoto Honeycomb Grid for Softlight Reflector
This grid for the Beauty Dish above maintains the softness but funnels the light into a bean of soft light that looks like a Fresnel spotlight.
Get the full specs at B&H
Profoto Magnum Reflector
Profoto’s most efficient reflector. Great for everything from arena lighting to portraits with up to 2-stops more output than the zoom reflector.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Profoto 10 Degree Honeycomb Grid for Magnum Reflector
This grid is designed to fit both the Profoto Magnum and Narrow Beam Reflector, narrowing the spread of light to 10°.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Profoto Zoom Reflector
The great thing about Profoto’s reflector design in that they can push forward or back on the flash head and you can really control the throw with the zoom reflector foam wide-and-even to a tight spot of light.
Get the full specs at B&H
Elinchrom 74″ Octabank
Go to modifier for even light or lighting a big space. I call it sun on a stick. You can really control the look just by the angle you place it an whether you use diffusion in from or not from insanely soft to more punch than Mike Tyson – and they won’t bite your ear.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Elinchrom Profoto Adapter – Profoto Head to Elinchrom Accessories
Allows the use of Elinchrom softboxes and reflectors including the Octabank on Profoto strobe heads.
Get the full specs at B&H
Matthews 12×12′ White Artificial Silk
If I had to pick just one diffusion option it would be a 12×12′ silk. I use these to diffuse for everything. I’ll hang one in front of my fill light or is front of a window or doorway.
Get the full specs at B&H
Grip Equipment
Avenger Alu-Baby 35 Stand with Lazy Leg (11.5′ high – 44″ folded)
These study aluminum lightstands are my favorite stands for travel. Strong enough to safely hold an Octbank, but a light enough for travel. The leveling leg is perfect for any uneven surface from stairs to hillsides. Extends to 11.5′ and folds down to 44″ to fit into a stand case with an Octabank.
Get the full specs at B&H
Manfrotto 156BLB 4′ Aluminum Mini Kit Stand
I always have one or two of these in my stands bag. They’re perfect when you need a low angle stand for backlights or a small stand than can hide out of the shot. Designed with a 5/8″ Baby Stud on top to accommodate small lights weighing 3 lbs or less.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Avenger Baby Roller Stand (14′)
This Triple-riser steel roller stand is my favorite stand for the studio because you can roll the key light to keep up with the subject. Baby 5/8″ pin at top extends to 14′.
Get the full specs at B&H
Kupo C-Stand Kit
The Kupo Master C-Stand with Turtle Base features a patented spring ring locking system that removes all tension from the legs so that gravity can do the work for you. Grip Arm with Big Handle Grip Head tubing is painstakingly machined to create a rough texture to ensure a non-slip surface.
Get the full specs at B&H
Kupo 40″ Hex Grip Arm with Big Handle
Kupo 2-1/2″ grip head mounted on the end of a 40″ steel arm features an oversized ergonomic T-handle and dedicated roller bearings designed for maximum torque. At the end of the 40″ grip arm, you will find a baby hex-pin with 6 milled flat surfaces so lights won’t rotate at the end.
Get the full specs at B&H
Kupo 2-1/2″ Grip Head With Big Handle
The 2-1/2″ Grip Head With Big Handle from Kupo has four V-shaped jaws, an ergonomic oversized T-shaped handle with dedicated roller bearings for maximum torque, and a non-slip aluminum friction disc.
Get the full specs at B&H
Avenger D600 Mini Boom
Avenger D600 Mini Boom telescopes from 46 – 83″. The chrome-plated steel boom supports up to 15.4 lb at its maximum extension, mounted to an optional heavy duty light stand. It has a 5/8″ receiver for the stand stud and ends in a 5/8″ pin for lights or other Baby accessories.
Get the full specs at B&H
Kupo Convi Clamp
Convi Clamp from Kupo has a hexagonal receiver that accepts many Convi accesories, allowing it to mount almost any light fixture, camera or accessory.
Get the full specs at B&H
Kupo Hex J Hook
This Kupo Hex J Hook Combi Clamp accessory is a super strong steel “J” hook with a hex pin. This hook is ideal for hanging strobe packs, HMI ballasts, or rigging background crossbars to light stands.
Get the full specs at B&H
Tech Stuff
Apple 15.4″ MacBook Pro Notebook Computer with Retina Display
Whether you’re a Mac or a PC the best thing you can do to keep the pixels flowing in your post-processing software is to max out the RAM and upgrade to the best graphic card available.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Sony 32GB SDHC UHS-1 Memory Card
These are my SDHC cards of choice. Great high-speed high-performance SDHC class 10 card lets you shoot fast bursts without slow-down for buffering.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
X-Rite ColorChecker Passport
ColorChecker Classic 24 Patch target that easily fits in your bag. Shoot a frame in each lighting situation and you’ll always be able to find your neutral.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Tether Tables
Tether Tables safely hold your laptop where you want it and they fit standard light stands or tripods that you probably already have on set.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Tether Cables
Since I’ve got big feet and all the grace of a mule, I love the High-Visibility Orange TetherPro USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Active Extension Cables. They keep me from tripping and tearing down the set.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5
Since it debuted, Lightroom has become the default must-have image editing software. It pays for itself many times over in the ability to quickly batch apply adjustments.
Get the Full Version at Amazon | B&H
Upgrade at Amazon | B&H
Cameras | Lenses | Lens Adapters | Lighting | Modifiers | Grip | Camera Support | Computers + Tech
Bags + Cases | Still Accessories | Audio | Kits | Recommended Reading
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